Umbrella frame

ABSTRACT

An umbrella frame having multiple stretching frames each composed of a long rib, a short rib, a stretcher, a connection plate, an elastic rod, a connector and a distal rod all made of plastic, wherein the improvement of the umbrella frame is that engaging parts such as blocks and protrusions on the elements are all made of plastic material and integrally formed with the elements respectively. Thus, joints of the umbrella frame have no erosion concerns in use.

This is a continuation-in-part (CIP) of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/764,949, filed on Jan. 26, 2004, which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an umbrella frame, and more particularly to an umbrella frame which has a plurality of stretching frames to be used for a long period of usage without easily breaking, wherein engaging means on the stretching frames are plastic and integrally extruded to avoid erosion and breakage caused by the erosion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A conventional umbrella frame is made of metals and thus easily eroded when the umbrella frame is damped in the rain in most common use. A joint which is disposed between a long rib and a short rib is easily broken after a long period of usage. Additionally, another conventional umbrella frame made of plastic and metal, as reference to FIG. 6, is composed of a long arm 4, a short arm 5 and a main rod 6 at each rib. The main rod 6 has a pair of eyelets 7 defined at its middle section. One end of the short arm 5 adjacent to the main rod 6 has a connecting bolt 8 pivotally attached to the eyelets 7 on the main rod 6. The long arm 4, short arm 5, and the main rod 6 are all made of plastic material but the connecting bolt 8 is made of metal. Therefore, the connecting bolt 8 is also easily eroded and causes breakage to the conventional umbrella frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide an umbrella frame which has a plurality of stretching frames to be used for a long period of usage without easily breaking. Therefore, a period of usage is prolongated.

To achieve the foregoing objective, the umbrella frame having multiple stretching frames each composed of a long rib, a short rib, a stretcher, a connection plate, an elastic rod, a connector and a distal rod all made of plastic, wherein the improvement of the umbrella frame is that engaging parts such as blocks and protrusions on the elements are all made of plastic material and integrally formed with the elements respectively.

the long rib has an end protruded block made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed on the long rib by injection extrusion;

the short rib has a distal protruded block made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed with the short rib by injection extrusion;

the stretcher has a distal protrusion made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed with the stretcher by injection extrusion; and

the connecting plate has an end protrusion made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed with the connecting place by injunction extrusion.

Thus, joints of the umbrella frame have no erosion concerns in use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective exploded view of a stretching frame of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective assembly view of a stretching frame of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating a first operation of an umbrella frame of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a second operation of an umbrella frame of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of an umbrella frame of a preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional umbrella frame in accordance with the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5, an umbrella frame 1 comprises a lower runner 28, a main shaft 30 inserted through the lower runner 28, an upper runner 29 disposed on a top end of the main shaft 30, and a plurality of stretching frames 2.

Each of the stretching frames 2 has a stretcher 23, a connection plate 24, an elastic rod 25, a connector 26, a distal rod 27, a long rib 21, and a short rib 22.

The long rib 21 with a channel has an end protruded block 213 formed at one end and pivotally inserted in the circular hole 2621 on the connector 26, an upper pressing bar 214 over the channel, an inner protruded bar 211 having a first through aperture 2111, and an outer protruded bar 212 having a second through aperture 2121. Particularly, the end protruded block 213 is made of plastic material and integrally formed on the long rib 21 by injection extrusion.

The short rib 22 is connected to the upper runner 29. The short rib 22 has a distal protruded block 221 pivotally connected with the first through aperture 2111 on the inner protruded bar 211 of the long rib 21, an upper protruded bar 222 having a round aperture 2221, and a lower lobe 223 having a circular aperture 2231. Particularly, the distal protruded block 221 is made of plastic material and integrally formed with the short rib 22 by injection extrusion.

The stretcher 23 is connected to the lower runner 28. The stretcher 23 has a distal protrusion 231 pivotally connected to the circular aperture 2231 on the lower lobe 223 of the short rib 22 and a downward lobe 232 having a round hole 2321. Particularly, the distal protrusion 231 is made of plastic material and integrally formed with the stretcher 23 by injection extrusion.

The connection plate 24 has a first end protrusion 241 pivotally combined with the round hole 2321 on the downward lobe 232 of the stretcher 23 and a second end protrusion 242 pivotally inserted in the second through aperture 2121 on the outer protruded bar 212 on the long rib 21. Particularly, the first end protrusion 241 is made of plastic material and integrally formed with the connecting place 24 by injunction extrusion.

The elastic rod 25 extends through the channel in the long rib 21 and has two end hooks 251 respectively engaged an end notch 261 of the connector 26 and the round aperture 2221 of the upper protruded bar 222 on the short rib 22. The elastic rod 25 is inserted through a spacing defined by the upper pressing bar 214 and the long rib 21. Moreover, the elastic rod 25 is preferably made of a metal.

The connector 26 has the end notch 261 at one end, an end hole 263 at the other end to receive the distal rod 27, and a lower protruded block 262 having a circular hole 2621 defined at a middle section thereof.

The distal rod 27 is a strip with a round cross-section and has a front end connected to the end hole 263 of the connector 26.

The stretcher 23, the connection plate 24, the connector 26, the distal rod 27, the long rib 21 and the short rib 22 are preferably made of plastics.

When the lower runner 28 is moved downward, the stretcher 23 will be rotated downward. Then the elastic rod 25 will force the distal rod 27, the long rib 21 and the short rib 22 to folded in an N shape to drive the lower runner 28 to a lowest location. Meanwhile, the long rib 23, the short rib 22 and the distal rod 27 are compressed to an extreme situation as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment but various modifications thereof may be made. Furthermore, various changes in form and detail may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 

1. An umbrella frame having multiple stretching frames each composed of a long rib, a short rib, a stretcher, a connection plate, an elastic rod, a connector and a distal rod all made of plastic, wherein an improvement of the umbrella frame is that: the long rib has an end protruded block made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed on the long rib by injection extrusion.
 2. The umbrella frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein an improvement of the umbrella frame is that: the short rib has a distal protruded block made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed with the short rib by injection extrusion.
 3. The umbrella frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein an improvement of the umbrella frame is that: the stretcher has a distal protrusion made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed with the stretcher by injection extrusion.
 4. The umbrella frame as claimed in claim 1, wherein an improvement of the umbrella frame is that: the connecting plate has an end protrusion made of plastic material for combination and integrally formed with the connecting place by injunction extrusion. 